In a letter written to Congress lawyer Omar Hoda, Secretary Mr. SK Das thanked the Congress party for bringing the issues to the commission’s notice. The Election Commission of India has dismissed the Congress’s complaints about the recently concluded Maharashtra assembly election, citing alleged discrepancies in poll figures and draft electoral rolls.
The apex poll body has invited the Congress delegation on December 3 to discuss the issue further. In a letter to Congress lawyer Omar Hoda, secretary SK Das thanked the Congress party for bringing the issues to the commission’s notice.
“As regards the first allegation regarding addition and deletion of voters in Maharashtra, as the INC is aware, electoral rolls are always prepared and finalised with close involvement of all political parties including yourselves. The copies of the draft electoral roll published is given to all political parties and the verification process involves political parties at every stage of the process,” the letter stated. Regarding the gap in the voting percentage, the Election Commission referred to its earlier letter to the party, saying the reasons have already been made public.
The allegations by INC
The Congress had alleged a big gap between the votes polled and votes counted during the Maharashtra elections, alleging rigging by the ruling BJP. It had also alleged that many of their voters’ names were deleted from the electoral roll. The commission has invited a Congress delegation to its office on Tuesday to discuss the matter in person.
The polling for Maharashtra was held on November 20 and the counting of votes was done on November 23. The Mahayuti Alliance won a landslide majority, with the BJP winning 132 seats. Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) and NCP ( Ajit Pawar faction) won 57 and 41 seats, respectively, in the 288-member house.
The Congress won just 16 seats, while its partners, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP ( Sharad Pawar faction), won 20 and 10 seats, respectively. CM Eknath Shinde resigned from his post to make way for new government formation. The Mahayuti is yet to declare the next chief minister with both Shinde and deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis vying for the top post.
